ANN’s senior editorial staff was stunned to read a recent article by the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s Executive Director, Richard McSpadden, in which the ASI Boss not only seemed to offer a probable cause long before the NTSB report is due (and even before the NTSB Prelim was published) but seemed intent on appointing itself an apologist for all things Icon.

This piece lauded Icon and their errant CEO, Kirk Hawkins, despite the fact that the company has proven itself incompetent on a number of levels, has engaged in fraudulent statements and conduct, has acted wildly and recklessly through its promo and demo programs, is over a half decade behind original schedules, has over-priced the aircraft to a point where it is now twice to three times the price of a competitive product and well over 250% of what was originally promised, has played all kinds of games with various media entities in order to project an image that is both false and misleading... and so much more. Lancair’s first production Mako customer was welcomed last week to the newly-launched Builder Assistance Center at the company’s Texas headquarters. Housed in a 10,000 square foot climate-controlled hangar, the Builder Assistance Center provides a dedicated work environment for Lancair kit owners to complete critical aircraft assemblies or the entire aircraft. Mooney has completed
delivery of the first production Ovation Ultra. It was the latest in a series of major milestones this year for the Texas-based manufacturer. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!

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